With two decades in the history books since the start of the 21st century, Pasadena City College Athletics will go through sport by sport as we look back at the Top 10 performers for every sport in the 2000s thus far as determined by the sports information office. Today, we rank the Top 10 from Lancers women's volleyball.
As with most programs, the number of great players add up. So for some that didn't make the top 10 cut, it's not because they weren't productive community college players.
One is libero Jennifer Estrada, the Co-MVP of the South Coast Conference in 2012. Estrada (2011-12 Lancers) broke the school record for digs with 348 (3.95 average per set) and became a top defensive player after transitioning from outside hitter her freshman season. Estrada played two years of university ball at Whittier College, recording a team-best 397 digs as a senior in helping the Poets set the school record for wins at 19 in 2015.
Another top player from 2012 was All-SCC First Team setter Kailey Faust, who averaged 9.85 assists per set for PCC's Co-SCC champion team that season. Faust (2011-12 Lancers) went on to play at Pacific Union College, leading the California Pacific Conference in assists with 884, then transferred to the University of La Verne her senior season.
In 2001, Mariel Arcos set then PCC school records for most kills in a season (387) and most blocks (109), earning All-SCC First Team honors. Arcos went on to earn a scholarship and play at Central Missouri University.
In 2019, Nalani Young was an All-SCC First Team selection helping the Lancers to a 19-10 season and a state #23 final ranking. Young, who is expected to be a part of this year's Lancers, became the first PCC player to ever reach both 300 kills and 300 digs in the same season.
Now, Here are the Top 10 in reverse order:
10. Emily Leung, setter, 2016-2017: For two years, Leung (from Maranatha High) established herself as a premier Lancer who quarterbacked the offense with precision. Despite missing seven matches due to injury her first season, Leung still earned All-SCC North Division First Team honors in current head coach Mike Terrill's first year in charge of the PCC program. She had one of her best matches ever when she totaled 62 assists v. Chaffey to help teammate Rayleen Rivera set a PCC school record with 30 kills. As a sophomore in 2017, Leung put on a clinic her second year when she averaged 9.18 assists a set and earned SCC North Division MVP in leading the Lancers to an undefeated (8-0) division championship. Leung dished out 35 assists in a playoff sweep over Ventura. In her 42 matches as a Lancer, Leung was a part of 28 victories (.667 win percentage). She earned a scholarship to play at the University of La Verne.
Tie 9. Ella Moe, outside hitter, 2010-11: From Hawaii and after a fine prep run in Utah, Moe had a modest first season learning the collegiate game, but then emerged as a dynamo hitter as a sophomore. Moe was named All-SCC First Team and then All-SoCal Region as she was one of the state's top hitters with 301 kills and a 3.58 per set average (.253 hitting percentage). Moe helped the Lancers to a 20-5 overall record, a playoff victory over Bakersfield, and a state #12 final ranking in 2011.
Tie 9. Melissa Davis, setter, 2001-2002: In the history of PCC women's volleyball, only two players have reached 1,000 assists in a season, but only one, Davis, did it twice. As a freshman in 2001, Davis recorded 1,053 assists, playing a remarkable 102 sets as the team's lone setter. The All-SCC First Team selection helped PCC to the postseason under Coach Jepsen and a No. 24 state ranking. Davis followed up with another thousand helper year as a sophomore and her 2,083 assists are a PCC school record for a career (Yanina Gherardi 1,075 assists set the single-season record in 1993). Davis highest assists total in a single match was 69 v. Long Beach in 2001. Davis, who also played softball and basketball at PCC, went on to be a long-time head coach for Covina High girls volleyball team.
8. Candice Price, opposite-outside hitter, 2007-2008: A lefty hitter, the 5-foot-10 Price emerged as one the Lancers best all-around players and helped launch PCC's highly-successful Tammy Silva era as head coach (2007-2012). Price was twice named All-SCC First Team. In her frosh year, she posted a double-double in 200-plus kills and 200-plus digs while leading the team in service aces with 48. In her second season, she was named All-SoCal Region and helped Pasadena to its first postseason playoff appearance in seven years and a No. 19 final state ranking (16-7 overall record). Price averaged 2.94 kills a set and was second on the squad in blocks with 54.
7. Gaby Gallardo, outside hitter, 1999-2000: Gallardo played as the 20th century came to a close but she was a monster player for the Lancers for two seasons. Twice named All-SCC First Team, Gallardo averaged 2.6 kills, 2.2 digs and 1.1 blocks her freshman year while leading the team in both kills (235) and aces (37). As a sophomore playing during the sideout-for-points era under PCC Hall of Famer and head coach Lori Jepsen, Gallardo stepped up her play as a sophomore when she led the squad in the three all-around statistical categories, pounding 281 kills, making 103 blocks, and totaling 224 digs, as she was selected All-SoCal Region in helping PCC advance to the postseason and finish as the state's No. 16-ranked team. She earned a scholarship to play at Henderson State University where she played on a Gulf South Conference West Division champion team and one that reached the NCAA Regionals in 2001. She finished with 516 kills in her 2-year PCC career.
6. Marissa Rangel, libero, 2008-2009: A 2-sport star at PCC (softball the other), Rangel is arguably the best defensive player in PCC history. She put together back-to-back, 300-plus dig seasons for the Lancers, averaging 4 per set. Rangel twice was named All-SCC First Team, and after a freshman season where she set a school record for digs with 322, was a member of the 2009 undefeated (16-0 in conference) South Coast championship squad. The Lancers were 39-9 with Rangel wearing the libero jersey in her career and earned the South's #1 seed as a sophomore. She helped spearhead a school-record, 22-match winning streak before PCC's state-tltle hopes were dashed in a 5-set upset loss to Bakersfield in the SoCal Regional finals. Rangel went on to earn a scholarship to Texas Wesleyan University where she played two seasons in both volleyball and softball. She earned All-Red River Athletic Conference Second Team as a junior and finished with more than 900 digs at the NAIA university level.
5. Aliyyah Abdullah, outside hitter-middle blocker, 2007 and 2010: A raw talent her freshman year, Abdullah was an All-SCC Second Team choice as a middle blocker, finishing with 194 kills and leading the Lancers in blocks with 91. Three years later, Abdullah returned to the program as a high leaping, hitting wizard and at a new position as an outside hitter. Abdullah dominated at times and led a PCC team that finished 22-5, reached the third round of regionals and was the No. 7-ranked team in the state. She recorded a team-high 309 kills (3.43 per set) and added 53 blocks and 37 aces as she was named All-State and All-SCC First Team. She set a school record for hitting percentage in a match (minimum 20 kills) as she hit .600 with 22 kills in only 30 attempts in a win over Santa Barbara. Abdullah earned a scholarship to Grand Canyon University.
4. Jackie Valle-Acosta, middle blocker, 2011-2012: Valle-Acosta was the most proficient middle hitter this century for the Lancers. A 2-time, All-SCC First Team selection, she hammered 184 kills and led PCC in hitting percentage (.415) and total blocks (76) in her frosh year. As a sophomore in 2012, she dominated the net and attained All-State status as she was second on the team in kills (221), led the team again in blocks (79), and hit an outstanding .440. Valle-Acosta helped PCC to the Co-SCC title, a 21-5 overall record, and a trip to the regional finals. She was at her best in the playoff push by the No. 5-seeded Lancers. In a first round win over Santa Barbara, she pounded 11 kills (hit .421) and added seven blocks in a sweep over the Vaqueros. In the second round, Valle-Acosta ripped 14 kills (hit .500) with six blocks (three solos) in a 5-set, upset over #4 seed Orange Coast, winning the last game, 16-14. Even in the 3-set loss to eventual state champion Pierce in the regional finals, she led the team with eight kills (in just 13 attempts).
3. Nora To'omalatai, outside hitter, 2012-2013: Maybe the most prolific hitter in PCC volleyball history, To'omalatai, from local Monrovia High, was a hitting machine in her two seasons at PCC. As a freshman, she was an All-SCC First Team selection when she helped PCC win the SCC co-championship. She led the squad in kills with 254, hit an outstanding .355, and was a serving expert with a team-high 47 aces. In the playoffs, she nailed 19 kills with a .462 hitting percentage in a 5-set win over Orange Coast after delivering a match-high 13 kills in a first round victory over Santa Barbara. In 2013, after Coach Silva retired, playing under interim coach Bill Sanchez, To'omalatai all but carried the '13 Lancers. Nora set single-season Lancers records with 414 kills and a 4.40 per set average, while also leading the team in digs (247) and aces--again with 47. During the regular season, she had a 25-kill, 21-dig performance v. Cypress and ripped her personal high of 29 kills in a 5-set loss to OCC. In the playoffs, she led a No. 12 seeded PCC team with 11 kills and 16 digs in leading an upset sweep at #5 San Diego Mesa. In her final PCC match, the 5-foot-8 To'omalatai put on a show with 25 kills and 16 digs, but her efforts came up a bit short. Pasadena fell to #4 Santa Barbara in five sets with PCC rallying to win game #4 29-27 only to lose the fifth and deciding set, 15-13. Her 668 career kills is a PCC record. Nora earned a playing scholarship to Northwestern Oklahoma State and totaled 300 plus kills as a junior.
2. Jessica Xu, setter, 2009 and 2011: From China, the 6-foot-1 Xu towered as easily one of the tallest setters to ever play community college volleyball. Xu played in a 6-2 rotation for Coach Silva as she wanted to best utilize Xu's all-around talents. In 2009, Xu was part of an amazing Lancers team than set school records for most wins (23), longest winning streak (22), and most sweeps (19). Xu led the Lancers in assists (7.45 per set), was third on the team in blocks (51), she hit 114 kills, and added 27 aces. There was nothing that Xu couldn't do in the PCC offense. Xu was All-SCC First Team and All-State. After taking a season off, Xu returned to cause more havoc for PCC opponents. She took on a more prominent role at setter, averaged 7.55 assists, led the team in aces with 31, hit 76 kills, had 44 blocks and chipped in 119 digs. Xu received 2011 All-SCC First Team honors again as PCC finished 20-5 and ranked #12 in the state. In her two seasons, Pasadena had a combined record of 43-7 for an outstanding .860 winning percentage. Xu was part of an impressive 33 sweeps out of those 43 victories. If ever a game changer, it was Xu.
1. Patti Blasco, outside hitter, 2009: So just how good was Blasco, one might ask? Good enough that every player on the Top 10 played two seasons at PCC except for this 5-foot-8 talent from Monterrey, Mexico, who played just one spectacular season for the Lancers before transferring to the 4-year university level. Blasco (also known as Blasco-Vine and later as Patty Snel) ignited the '09 Lancers with her high energy, her jumping ability, and a powerful swing as a hitter. She was PCC's 2009-2010 Co-Women's Athlete of the Year for all sports. Blasco was the first South Coast Conference Most Valuable Player ever selected from a PCC team on the school's first-ever conference champion (joined the SCC in 1987). Besides a 23-2 overall record, the Lancers went undefeated at 16-0 to capture the SCC title. Blasco then was named to the All-State team. She led the Lancers with 299 kills (3.78 per set), a proficient .365 hitting percentage, and added 200 digs (second on the team) plus 31 aces (only topped by her younger sister and setter Klaire Blasco with 32). She set at the time a school record for most kills in a match with 29 v. Mt. San Antonio. Her stats would have been far greater if not for the way PCC routed so many of its opponents, including 19 sweeps. The Lancers were ranked as high as #2 in the state during the regular season, which featured a school-record, 22-match win streak. In the SoCal Playoffs, Blasco was one of the few players not bothered by the pressure of PCC being selected the South Region's #1 seed. She ripped 23 kills and had 14 digs in a 5-set victory over Antelope Valley. When the team then saw its magical year end in a 5-set upset defeat v. Bakersfield, Blasco did what she could to keep her team in the match by recording 21 kills and 15 digs. Blasco earned a scholarship to the University of Hawaii-Hilo and played three seasons there. Eight players from the Top 10 list played during Coach Silva's run as head coach from 2007-2012.
